Plans to demolish an entire row of shops in Amwell End have been criticised by Ware Town Council, who said the developers had left existing businesses completely in the dark.

The plan, which was submitted to East Herts District Council in September, would see the block at 4 to 18 Amwell End that contains Spar, Andrew’s Fish Bar and The Bread Bin knocked down to make way for a four and five-storey building containing new retail units and 32 flats.

At a meeting of the council on Monday (29 January), Councillor Mark Pope said shopkeepers had complained that they have had “no interaction with the landlords at all” during the planning process, despite facing having their businesses “ruined”.

He said: “It’s not a very good situation for the shopkeepers in this parade.

“They have no idea what their position will be — when the landlord is looking to start the work, whether they’ll be compensated for having to move out.

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“The fish and chip shop for instance has a five-year unexpired lease so presumably will get some compensation from the landlord but the cafe, their lease has expired so I’m not sure what their position is.

“Essentially their businesses will be ruined because they’ll have to move out for at least a year, maybe 18 months.

“These businesses have built up their business over a period of years, they rely on regular trade and if there’s going to be a huge great gap people will just go elsewhere won’t they

“They’ve not had any discussions about whether they can move into the new building when it’s available. There’s been no contact at all with the landlord or developers.

“The treatment of the shopkeepers in that parade has been very poor I believe. I really do think we should bring the owners to task for this.”

A spokeswoman for Wakelin Associates — the architects that have drawn up the plans for landlords Omega Land Holdings — denied this was the case, however, claiming that the landlords have “done everything they possibly can”.

The council says the development is "too high with too much glass"

She went on to say that businesses would have the right to move back into the new premises and that they had been told when they could expect to move out.

The council resolved to oppose the development at a meeting in September, citing concerns about the modern design, the size and height of the buildings, the lack of parking and a lack of detail about the amount of affordable housing that would be included.

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They said: “The modern design does not blend well with the conservation area. The development is too high with too much glass and a flat roof.

“This will detract from the listed buildings opposite. It would completely change the character of the area and is not appropriate at this important gateway to the town.

“This is an opportunity to remedy the mistakes of the 1960s and, therefore, the town council would prefer to see a more traditional design more in keeping with the conservation srea, for example, than that used for the former Co-op in Star Street.”

East Herts District Council’s Development Management Committee will discuss the plans further in a meeting tonight (31 January).